As the calendar flips to July 1, 2024, a slew of new laws will come into effect across the United States, reflecting the diverse priorities and political climates of state legislatures. These laws span a wide range of issues from public safety to education, health care to environmental protection. While some are heralded as progressive steps forward, others have sparked significant controversy and debate.

Voting Rights and Democracy

Progressive Legislation to Protect Democracy

Progressive legislators across the country are working hard to protect our democracy and expand access to voting. In an effort to combat misinformation during elections, Colorado passed a bill that prohibits the use of artificial intelligence to create and disseminate deepfakes in political campaigns without clear disclosure. Virginia, which flipped its legislature blue last November, passed a slew of bills expanding voting access in the Commonwealth. Various bills allow voters who are awaiting trial or have been convicted of a misdemeanor to vote absentee. They also remove the requirement that a voter must have a physical disability to receive assistance outside a polling place, require notices to be posted when a polling location changes, improve language accessibility on the Board of Elections website, and grant election officials protected voter status.

Restrictive Measures by Republican Legislatures

In stark contrast, Republican legislatures are further limiting access to the ballot and increasing voter intimidation. In Georgia, a new provision makes it easier for private citizens to challenge someone’s eligibility to vote based on unreliable data, increasing the chances that eligible voters will have their registrations canceled. 

Education and Child Care

Expanding Access to Affordable Child Care

We also see contrasting visions for the future playing out in our states on the issue of education and child care. In Connecticut, which has one of the highest costs of child care in the country, a priority bill aimed at improving access to affordable early childhood care and education has been passed.

Controversial Educational Policies

Meanwhile, Florida is continuing to interfere with public education by allowing chaplains and patriotic organizations in school and requiring all grade levels including kindergarten to learn about the history of communism. 

Abortion Access

Restrictive Abortion Laws

Abortion access is also an area where red states are pursuing radical, revanchist visions of the future. In Tennessee, it is now a misdemeanor to help a minor obtain an abortion out of state without parental consent. This strict measure adds to Tennessee’s already stringent abortion laws, with adults facing prosecution or civil lawsuits for helping minors get abortion care, obtain abortion drugs, or hide abortion care from a child’s parents or guardians. Kansas has a law going into effect that requires abortion providers to share patient information and increases funds for anti-abortion centers. 

Divergent State Visions

The High-Stakes Game of State Legislation

Polarized state legislatures play a high-stakes game, and the outcomes are nothing short of our lives. In a functional system, leaders should celebrate and institutionalize successful programs that enhance our health and safety. But in our states, such governance too frequently materializes only along partisan lines.

Contrasting Futures: Red vs. Blue States

Red and blue states offer starkly contrasting visions for the nation and for the role of government, with the end of Medicaid continuous coverage exemplifying this divergence. In Republican-controlled states, a bleak future looms, in which small and petty government willfully ignores evidence-based successes in favor of short-term partisan victories. But our blue states reveal a hopeful, functional alternative— one in which government is a force for good, implementing programs that create the conditions for human flourishing and equity. It’s a vision worth fighting for, state by state.